Viral: Stories worth a second look

MANILA, Philippines – A lot of the things on the Internet are not often what they seem. Some videos and stories that took on lives of their own and went viral had second and third layers that were revealed later on. 

Here are a few that are worth looking into:

The ugliest woman in the world – not

When Lizzie Velasquez went online back when she was in high school, she found an 8-second video of her on YouTube which labeled her ‘the ugliest woman in the world.’ It had 4 million views and assaulted Lizzie with thousands of hate-fueled comments.

But what most people don’t know was that Lizzie had a rare disease which prevented her from gaining weight. No matter how much she ate, she has never weighed more than 64 pounds. She is also blind in the right eye. 

“The doctors told my parents, ‘We just want to warn you, expect your daughter never to be able to talk, walk, crawl, think, or do anything for herself,'” she told the crowd during her TED talk in Austin, Texas.

Clearly, Lizzie has accomplished way more than those basic tasks. Instead of absorbing all the negativity from the bullying, Lizzie decided not to let it define her and opted to live her life normally. She graduated college with a communications degree and is now a motivational speaker. 

Watch Lizzie talk about her experience here:

The living doll

When a former athlete starts dressing up as a white woman, a lot of people will find it weird or even offensive. ‘Dominique’ has been on the receiving end of a lot of hurtful comments online. He prevails because he thinks that facing the world as a curvy white woman has its perks. 

“I notice that when I’m a sexy female, I get treated completed differently,” says Dominique in the video. “For people to realize that this beautiful big white woman is really a black man is mind-blowing.” 

Watch his short interview here:

The bloody selfie

Susann Stacy is fond of taking selfies. There are a lot on her Facebook profile. But one night, she posted one of her bloodied and beaten self with a caption ‘Help please anyone.’ Many assumed that the selfie was a grotesque cry for attention. Actually, the selfie was her last resort after she was beaten up by her husband, who destroyed their phone and left her unable to call 911.

All she had was a Wi-Fi connection which she used to post the photo and call for help. Police were able to arrest her husband later.

Huffington Post reported that the comments made prompted her to post this on her Facebook: “A statement about the events of Monday.. I posted a picture via WiFi because it was my ONLY way to seek help. I didn’t have a phone to call on… no cell service… just WiFi. I just wanted help.. to not die in a pool of my own blood in my kitchen floor. I am thankful for all the help… care… concern… and humanity shown to me. There are so many negative statements being made… along with positive ones… following the news stories. To each their own. Time to find that more better forever. Blessings.”

– Rappler.com